it's just what you need it for. personally they seem to be beefing up the 1/2 tons and the 3/4 and above seem to be moving predominantly to diesels.

i have a new toyota tundra with the 5.7L V8 and 4WD. I love it. more power than I've ever experienced with a 1/2 ton. i haven't towed anything near 10,000 pounds but i have had about 5000 behind it and it had no problems at all, even on some steep grades and with the large brakes it stopped easily. I get 16.5 mpg with nothing on it and with 5000lbs behind it i only dropped to 13. which my 2001 3/4 chevy with a 6L gas motor got 9 mpg with nothing behind it.

The way I look at it is it depends on your useage. I went with the 1/2 ton b/c it is my everyday vehicle and spends the majority of it's miles with nothing behind it. But on the weekends it can handle a big boat, or anything that i can imagine needing to pull. I've got friends that have the F250 diesels or gas motors and yes when you strap that big trailer behind it they may pull it better and won't have the drop in gas mileage that i have, but with nothing behind it I have better mileage.

the 3/4 and 1 tons are great for the constant pullers and i would go that route if that's what i was, but the 1/2 tons are tough enough now that most weekend warriors can do whatever they need to do with a 1/2 ton instead of having to drive a big diesel daily just so they can take their boat out twice a month.

called my chevy dealer to inquire as to how much my van can tow, he says well you have a 2002 gmc 2500 with a 5.4 engine...you can tow 13,000 lbs.I think he may be a bit nutty eh?

Gas 5.4??? No way Jose. Obviously he will see you soon (to buy a new vehicle) if you put that kind of weight on your van. You might want to ask him why a 6 liter 4.10 rear axle 2500 GMC van in 2004 was only rated at 9,900 lbs. I've seen tow ratings decrease but not by this amount.

That unfortunately is why I put little value in what a dealer tells me regarding towing. You have to do the homework yourself and get the specs.

Braking? That is why your Airstream has brakes. The tow vehicle shouldn't be stopping the trailer.

Power? That is a matter of gears although many vehicles with modern engines do quite well in brute power historically speaking.

Other factors?

Perhaps the biggest is tires and wheels as those can fail catastrophically if overloaded. This isn't a big deal to upgrade. On just about everything else, getting to load limits is more of a maintenance thing.

There is the tower vs trailer weight and size ratios that influence handling but, again, proper rigging can take care of that.

It seems to be a modern phenomena to want (even demand or worse) tow vehicles where there isn't any difference whether or not the trailer is back there.

Depending upon your usage, pushing the spec envelope a bit might be worthwhile. Lighter vehicles tend to be more fuel efficient. Comfort and conveniences may be a factor (but again, modern massives are getting all sorts of creature comforts now).

Part of the confusion , at least in the GM line is that there are two 1/2 tons , regular and HD , and two 3/4 tons , regular and HD . A HD 1/2 ton is almost identical to a regular 3/4 ton . A HD 3/4 ton has a different frame , axles,wheels,brakes,transmission,springs,etc.. A few years back a 5.7L was available in both 1/2 and 3/4 ton , but they were not the same internally ,not sure about today , I've gone deisel ,.

regular, heavy duty, super duty... Maybe I should of held out for the 'super duper heavy duty roid runner edition' instead of buying an old diesel......

Yes, you could have. Doing so would have allowed you to have a tow vehicle that would have started by shearing all the rivets off the front of your vintage Tradewind, and ended by ripping the A-frame off in front of your Airstream.

the 3/4 and 1 tons are great for the constant pullers and i would go that route if that's what i was, but the 1/2 tons are tough enough now that most weekend warriors can do whatever they need to do with a 1/2 ton instead of having to drive a big diesel daily just so they can take their boat out twice a month.

Agreed, as long as you are within safe weight limits.
BTW, we get 14-15mpg towing.
21 not towing.

If mpg is a big concern, 1/2 tons don't have any adavantage. As a matter of fact, I never had a 1/2 ton that got this kind of mileage!

Bill

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*Life is Good-Camping all around the Continent*
*Good people drink good beer-Hunter S Thompson*

But I was talking about the NEW 2008 1/2 ton trucks that are saying that can tow 10 K lbs. Do they have bigger rotors and heavier springs, and all of the other good stuff. It seems like they have just made a 1/2 ton into a 3/4 ton.

Yes, you could have. Doing so would have allowed you to have a tow vehicle that would have started by shearing all the rivets off the front of your vintage Tradewind, and ended by ripping the A-frame off in front of your Airstream.

Tom

Not the way to go about a shell-off restoration is it? Actually, the stiffer suspension is one of my main concerns about going to the 3/4 ton. The air hitch is interesting, but I would like more evidence it is effective before spending all that money.

Well…the short answer is its relative; the payload/towing capacities of all trucks have been shifting upwards, not just for ½ tons. (I'll continue this rant as I assume you are considering towing 10k pounds as the title of your post indicates.)But keep in mind, that nice cushy car like ride of a ½ ton will work against you when towing. The new ½ ton may be pushing more torque and hp, but the rest of the system is just not conducive to towing heavy loads, long distances, for the long-term. Many folks are towing 25’ with ½ ton (And less! The previous generation foreign trucks aren’t even ½ tons-but some folks use em’) and they will tell you they are “doing fine” hauling through the Rockies, over the Alps, and just past the Himalayas. Truth is most of them have nothing to compare there experience to. If you are coming out of a passenger car, and this is your first truck, you may think-wow! This thing is awesome. The “white knuckle” towing experience seems normal.I’ll go out on a limb and say; most folks towing with ½ tons have not had the benefit of towing with a ¾ ton (or 1 ton). Conversely; I’ll bet most folks towing with ¾ (or 1) ton trucks have had the benefit of previously towing with a ½ ton at some point in their life.I personally don’t know anyone that has traded back down to a ½ ton. I’ll say it again; if you own the truck now, and are within legal weight limits, and you don’t stray far from home, you will probably do just fine. If you are in the market, and are towing 25’ or greater, then you will not regret going the ¾ ton route. Been there. There is NO COMPARISON. (I’ll post this link in case you haven’t seen it. It pretty much details the evolution of my towing experience; http://www.airforums.com/forums/f238...ml#post313803)

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*Life is Good-Camping all around the Continent*
*Good people drink good beer-Hunter S Thompson*

curretly just finished a cross country tow with 2008 f150 crew cab lariat, tow package and 5.4. and a 2004 28 safari. Just a great experience and this truck sits as high as a 250 with 18inch tires but very nice with leather and console shift etc. I truly believe the new 150s set up correctly are a very very capable choice.

For the numbers I lease, new every 2 and run 20k /year. The diesel for my needs did not pay and we will tow approx 12k/year. I did the math and after this trip we made the right decision.Quiet, low maint, and just plain simple to own.